312-50V11 · Question #678
Password cracking programs reverse the hashing process to recover passwords.(True/False.)
The correct answer is B. False. Password cracking programs do NOT reverse the hashing process because hashing is a one-way cryptographic function that cannot be mathematically inverted.
Question
Password cracking programs reverse the hashing process to recover passwords.(True/False.)
Options
- ATrue
- BFalse
How the community answered
(49 responses)- A6% (3)
- B94% (46)
Why each option
Password cracking programs do NOT reverse the hashing process because hashing is a one-way cryptographic function that cannot be mathematically inverted.
Stating true would imply hashing is reversible, which contradicts the fundamental cryptographic property of one-way hash functions.
Hashing algorithms such as MD5, SHA-1, and NTLM are designed as one-way functions, meaning the original plaintext cannot be derived from the hash output. Password crackers instead generate candidate passwords, hash each one using the same algorithm, and compare the resulting hash to the captured target hash - a process known as hash comparison or brute-force guessing, not reversal.
Concept tested: One-way nature of cryptographic hash functions
Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/seccrypto/cryptographic-hash-functions
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